Davis, Kious/Hochstrat, Matsuoka/Cai

SharpByCoop

SharpByCoop

Enjoying the discussions
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Oct 8, 2001
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Hi folks,

I finished these up in the past few weeks, and hadn't posted them. They all have one thing in common: They are busy! And that's not a bad thing, it just is.

John Davis, JS
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Brian Hochstrat's engraving on a Joe Kious 'pocket locket'. Theme is "Legend of Authur". Gold inlayed scenes and scroll work. The lockets contain Gwenivere and Merlin, both accented with colored gold inlays.
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I suspect this is Brian's most ambitious and successful project to date. Nice.

Scot Matsuoka, with help from fellow Hawaiian C.J. Cai (One of my favorite engravers)
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Sit back and enjoy. :)

Coop
 
That John Davis damascus is outstanding and Brian Hochstrat is becoming one of my favorite engravers. Photos not bad either. ;) :)
 
nice... I would have to line my pockets with baby calf leather if i ever wanted to carry something like that!
 
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that matsuoka is so cool!....thanks for the awsome pics....ryan:thumbup:
 
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I love the Matsuoka/Cai collab, I got to see it in person when Scott had it at with him at the BAKCA show.
 
I agree with Keith--while each has their appeal, I like the Davis best. It has very simple, elegant lines with knock-your-socks-off materials.
 
That Scott Matsuoka has a real flair for design. I admire his knives very much.:thumbup:
Thanks for the great photos! Yet again!
 
They are all exceptional knives and as can be expected....so are the pictures.

Thanks Coop,
Peter
 
John Davis is rare on the forums, what a treat. He won the Blade Handmade Award last year for his damascus. Nice shots Coop.
 
ryan9977 said:
that matsuoka is so cool!....thanks for the awsome pics....ryan:thumbup:
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It's an abomination.

The design is a riff on Ken Onion design, and not a very good one....and if ANYONE thinks the Cai engraving of a dragon is anything but second rate, you ALL need to go back and look at engraving from the likes of Firmo Fricassi or Winston Churchill......heck, even Bailey Bradshaw's engraving is significantly better than this, and Bailey can make the knife to go with the engraving, he is a maker who does engraving, not a full time engraver.

It is very disappointing to see the kudos lavished on this knife...I have seen Scott do much better work that WAS worthy of praise...my feeling is that a) because Coop posted it, much of the chorus will be favorable or b)(which I suspect more likely) people supporting this work really don't have that much personal exposure to the primo grade.

:eek:

Best Regards,

Steven Garsson
 
I wouldn't expect a knife from Matsuoka to look completely unlike an Onion.
As I understand it, Onion was a mentor for Matsuoka.

I'll remember your comments next time I see you praise any knife that looks something like a Loveless designed knife.;)

As for this knife, I really like the way that the liners almost disappear at the butt end of the handle, and transition into standing proud of the scales toward the front of the handle. Very cool design.

Beware, billy goats! The bridge is a dangerous place today!:)
 
Thanks Coop...great pics.

I have to agree with Keith on the Davis being my favorite, but it IS busy...I can't decide whether it is TOO busy and could have been de-emphasized in some places. Don't get me wrong, I think it is beautiful and would love to have it as mine. I'm just trying to train my eye to what I like and don't like about a knife. The damascus is bold and clean, I love the blade.

I am no judge of engraving, particularly elaborate engraving. I know there is talent there, and a lot of hard work. To me, there are too many elements going on in those knives; but they are not the style of knives which I am fond of. I do appreciate what it took to make these knives and execute them to any reasonable standard.
 
Lorien said:
I wouldn't expect a knife from Matsuoka to look completely unlike an Onion.
As I understand it, Onion was a mentor for Matsuoka.

I'll remember your comments next time I see you praise any knife that looks something like a Loveless designed knife.;)

As for this knife, I really like the way that the liners almost disappear at the butt end of the handle, and transition into standing proud of the scales toward the front of the handle. Very cool design.

Beware, billy goats! The bridge is a dangerous place today!:)
Click to expand...

Loveless is public domain by now, and most do his designs rather poorly compared to the originals as well, and people pipe up and say they like it this way, even though it is wrong.

What liners, there are no liners on this knife, it is a framelock?

And the implication that I am trolling is laughable and juvenile, but that is to be expected from you.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
:o you're right, trick of the light. Duh!

Sorry Steve, I wasn't implying that you were 'trolling', only implying that you were being a grumpy old troll, like in the story. I read that story all the time, since my daughter loves it! Anyway, sorry for being so cryptic.

I'd say that Onion is fairly much in the public domain, although he hasn't been around for as long, and is still prolific, from what I understand. Kershaw has boosted his design philosophy amazingly well. I've seen lots of work which references his design outlook.

Anyway, I still think it's a sweet knife.
 
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